SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH The effective deployment of teaching assistants INCLUSION CONFERENCE 2015 ‘ANGRY LEARNERS’

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Aim:  To recognise that the Class Teacher has responsibility for the progress of all learners in the class  To recognise the importance of deploying LSAs effectively  To improve systems for improving the effectiveness of LSA support.

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH OFSTED Framework 2015 Overall Effectiveness:  The school’s practice consistently reflects the highest expectations of staff and highest aspirations for pupils..and those with SEN Quality of teaching:  Much teaching over time….is outstanding and never less than consistently good. As a result, almost all pupils… those who have SEN… are making sustained progress that leads to outstanding achievement.  Teaching over time..is consistently good. As a result, most pupils and groups of pupils.. have SEN…make good progress and achieve well over time.  As a result of weak teaching over time, pupils..have SEN.are making inadequate progress. Achievement of pupils  The learning of groups of pupils.. who have SEN.is consistently good or better.  The learning of groups of pupils…who have SEN… is generally good.  Groups of pupils, those who have SEN are underachieving.

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Teachers’ Standards A teacher must... ...adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils. ...have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn, and how best to overcome these. ...know how to adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at different stages of development. ...have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs... and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them. (Excerpt)

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Code of Practice 2014 – Class teachers Classroom and subject teachers are at the heart of the new SEN Support system, driving the movement around the four stages (assess, plan, do, review) of action with the support guidance of the SENCO and specialist staff.  Focus on outcomes for the child: Be clear about the outcome wanted from any SEN support.  Be responsible for meeting special educational needs: Use the SENCO strategically to support the quality of teaching, evaluate the quality of support and contribute to school improvement.  Have high aspirations for every pupils: Set clear progress targets for pupils and be clear about how the full range of resources are going to help reach them.  Involve parents and pupils in planning and reviewing progress: Seek their views and provide regular updates on progress.

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Code of Practice Teaching Assistants TAs are part of the whole school approach to SEN working in partnership with the classroom/subject teacher and the SENCO to deliver pupil progress and narrow gaps in performance. It is for schools to decide how they deploy teaching assistants depending on their level of experience. To be most effective the support they give should be focused on the achievement of specific outcomes within the graduated approach to SEN support TAs can be part of a package of support for the individual child but should never be a substitute for the teacher’s involvement with that child.

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH The Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DIS) Project Research findings: Whilst LSAs did much to reduce teacher work load and improve behaviour and attention, they had less impact on children’s academic progress. Can you think why?

Some possible reasons? The least qualified are teaching the least able. TAs sometimes feel the need to complete tasks rather than focus on learning. There is reduced peer to peer interaction and pupil to teacher interaction. TAs have not received the right level of preparation or enough information to deliver the activity.

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Do we deploy our Teaching Assistants effectively…. During whole class teaching?  Managing behaviour  Supporting access  Modelling  Developing independence  Individual support  Recording progress

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Do we deploy our Teaching Assistants effectively…. During group work and 1:1 support?  Has the teacher given the TA specific direction/information about this lesson?  Has the teacher ensured the TA is clear about the learning outcomes, teaching strategies and assessment?  Is the TA familiar with the child’s targets, IEP or Behaviour Plan and it’s relevance to/impact upon the current piece of work

Sample activity plan not include Not enough information Write about what you will look like when you are a hundred years old. Helps to chunk down the task Revise LO. Show photograph. Give ch. sentence start “When I am old I will...” Ask for ideas how to finish sentence. Model how to say sentence aloud and count words. Model how to write sentence, using golden sentence prompt. Ask children to say their sentence to partner. Ch. to use golden sentence prompt to write sentence. Get ch. to read sentence back and check using GS prompt. *Less experienced LSAS will need more guidance.

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Do we deploy our Teaching Assistants effectively…. Assessment/Feedback? Interventions have little impact unless……  How is feedback communicated to the teacher?  What are the barriers to a TA providing feedback to a teacher?  How can these be reduced?  How do teachers ensure learning from interventions is applied back in class and in different contexts?

Teaching all children across the week How do teachers monitor the learning of children not in their group? How can this be best managed? How do teachers ensure that they teach all learners in their class across the week? How do teachers assess knowledge/progress and decide next steps for learning?

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Environments Inner self, relationships, control, structure Is the working environment appropriate to the needs of the learners? Are working spaces are properly resourced e.g. displays, word mats, a board for the LSA to model on etc?

SpringwellSchool Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6DH Moving Forward  Revised SEN policy in light of CoP  Agreed practice in your school whole school or class approach  How is this information shared with your TAs  How do teachers monitor the learning of children not in their group?  How is specific learning related information shared with TAs?  Training and guidance for TAs